NEWS RELEASE

CONTACT: Christopher Hickey (Executive Director), [email protected]

Leader in Violence Prevention Joins Institute


June 19, 2008


For immediate release
ACTON, Mass. – Mr. Antonio Arrendel, a nationally acclaimed violence prevention and conflict resolution trainer, recently joined the Institute for Sport Coaching as its Senior Consultant. Arrendel, currently the Manager of Violence Prevention and Diversity, a Program at Northeastern University’s Center for the Study of Sport in Society, has worked with a number of professional football and
baseball teams as well as several major college athletic teams.
“Having someone of Antonio’s quality and experience to join us is special. His insight to the challenges facing today’s youth along with his ideas to develop unique workshops for sport coaches will be a great asset to the Institute’s efforts to develop quality trained sport coaches in the metro
Boston area. ,” responded Christopher Hickey, the Institute’s Executive Director.


Arrendel, one of the best training facilitators in conflict resolution, cultural diversity, and gender/domestic violence prevention in the country, will work with the Institute leadership in develop new content for coaching workshops as well as become one of the Institute’s trainers. Arrendel, a
former national level track & field intercollegiate athlete, holds a BS in Human Services from Northeastern University, and lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts with his family.


---Institute for Sport Coaching---
The Institute for Sport Coaching, headquartered in Acton, MA, is a national, non-profit 501(c) 3
organization dedicated to developing and delivering educational experiences and leadership tools
critical to the advancement and improvement of sport coaches in the United States. The Institute
develops and nurtures professional, intercollegiate, interscholastic and youth sport coaches, and
prepares them to provide positive experiences in sport and teach life skills to athletes. The Institute’s
goals include combating obesity and inactivity among America’s youth and creating safe and quality
sports experiences for young athletes through a network of quality sport coaches. Please see
instituteforsportcoaching.org for more information.

This author brings up the great idea where parents need to evaluate whether or not coaches are qualified to coach their children. Parents can use the National Standards for Sport Coaches as a guide to do so.





Copyright 2008 The Buffalo News
All Rights Reserved
Buffalo News (New York)


June 14, 2008 Saturday
FINAL EDITION


SECTION: LIFESTYLES; Pg. C1

HEADLINE: A sporting chance;
Here are some questions to consider before getting your children involved in organized sports

BYLINE: By Amy Moritz - NEWS STAFF REPORTER


The choices can be daunting.

Should I put my child in gymnastics? Or soccer? Or hockey?

What about a travel league?

How do I know if the coaches are qualified? If there's enough supervision? If it's safe.

Those are the questions parents ponder when trying to figure out what sport is best for their child.

Add to their concerns headlines like the Wilson baseball team hazing incident, and parents can feel like they're sending their child into a future episode of "Law and Order."

So how do parents wade their way through the youth sports culture?

It all starts with asking questions -- of yourself, your child and the directors of the recreational leagues.

Here's where to begin:

1. How do you match your child with the right sport?

First, let him or her try a variety of sports at a young age.

"It's best if parents expose their kids to as many different sports as possible to help give them a sense of all the wonderful options that are out there," said John Engh, chief operating officer for the National Alliance for Youth Sports.

"A 7-year-old may take a liking to soccer, or maybe they'll really love playing lacrosse, but if they don't get a chance to try these sports they'll never know.

Adds Engh: "One of the biggest problems in sports today is that parents push their child into one particular sport and make them play that one season after season, which leads to burnout and the epidemic of overuse injuries we're seeing today.

"Children should not focus on one sport before the age of 10."

Parents should ask their child what sport he or she is interested in, and then consider what you both are looking to gain from the sport.

"We feel passionate about activities that allow us to experience enjoyment, learning, challenge, competency, control, freedom and value," said Dr. Caroline Silby, a sports psychologist and author on the subject of youth sports.

"Before signing your child up, ask yourself whether the sport will allow your child opportunities to feel some of these emotions. If not, then find another activity."

Children often want to play a sport because their friends do, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. Team sports offer friendship and fun, but if your child is easily frustrated, then putting him or her in a highly competitive sports league is not the best option.

2. Choosing the right level

So you found the sport (or sports) that your child is eager to play. Do some investigation before completing the registration form.

Find out if the team has an equal playing time policy so that all kids, no matter how strong or weak in skill, get a chance to play.

Recreation leagues often have two tiers of play -- house and travel leagues, with the latter geared more toward skilled players. Starting your child at the house or recreation level offers the young athlete a chance to decide if he or she wants to pursue further skill development at the more competitive travel level.

"It's just important that it's the decision of the child and not the parent pushing the youngster to a more competitive level that they're not ready for or not interested in being a part of," Engh said.

It's also important to make sure that skill and confidence levels match. A young athlete may be gifted with physical talent but lack the confidence to succeed.

"One of the greatest burdens children can bear is to be told they have potential and simultaneously feel as though they are consistently underachieving," Silby said.

3. Choosing the right coach

While many coaches are volunteers, there are programs to teach them effective ways of teaching skills in a safe environment and also how to work with groups of children.

"Parents wouldn't enroll their child in a school that didn't have trained teachers, so it makes no sense to allow their child to play on a team with a volunteer coach who has no training in working with a group of children," Engh said.

He suggests that the best recreation programs are ones that conduct background checks on volunteer coaches, offer training programs and periodically evaluate performances.

Silby recommends that parents attend some practices, not to second-guess the coach but to understand and evaluate the environment the coach is creating.

"We do know that athletes who train in environments that reward effort, value all players on the team -- not just the most talented -- accept mistakes as part of the learning process and encourage collaborative learning show greater enjoyment, less stress, higher levels of self-esteem and more positive body images," Silby said.

"I would encourage parents to go to watch practices and observe whether the coach strives to create this type of motivational climate."

4. Safety concerns

There are two areas of concern when it comes to safety: physical and emotional.

The safety guidelines listed by the National Athletic Trainer's Association suggest that parents should check to make sure that young athletes are wearing the appropriate safety gear and that the gear fits.

Facilities should be safe, including removing debris, water and rocks from outdoor playing areas, and athletes should be matched with children of similar skill level, weight and maturity.

Other health and safety issues include making sure kids stay properly hydrated, which means drinking water or sports drinks before during and after practice and games.

While bumps and bruises are the norm in sports, dealing with abusive coaches and teammates should never be part of the game.

Parents should not necessarily react to one-time events but should look for patterns in coaches' behavior.

And as uncomfortable as it may be, parents should teach their children about the differences between appropriate and inappropriate touching and flirting.

"Children can be encouraged to trust their instincts and tell an adult 'no' when the adult suggests something she knows is wrong or unacceptable," Silby said.

"It's critical to children's safety that they learn to trust their own feelings and if they feel unsafe, to remove themselves immediately."

But parents should also understand that differences in motivational techniques or disagreements about playing time do not constitute abuse.

"Many people confuse differences in coaching philosophy with abuse," Silby said. "There are coaches who have a philosophy that revolves around winning and producing champions.

"There are also coaches who encourage the physical, psychological and emotional development of the child. Parents have to decide upfront what type of philosophy will best meet their expectations and needs of their child.

However, Silby said, "trust your gut. If you feel it's not a healthy environment for your child, it isn't."

e-mail: [email protected]

***

The right choice

Questions to ask when choosing a competitive sport:

*How many hours per week will practice require?

*How long is the season?

*How much travel is required?

*What are the parental responsibilities?

*How much playing time will my child get?

*What are the coaching philosophies at the next level?

*Are players of all capabilities treated fairly and equitably?

*Is it a win-at-all-cost environment or is improvement valued?

*How will this decision affect family life?

*How will this decision affect the relationship with my child?

*

Signs of trouble

Warning signs of emotional and/or physical abuse:

*Sudden aggressiveness

*Quitting the team or uncharacteristic lack of interest.

*Sleep problems

*Appetite changes

*Sliding grades

*Fear of washrooms, locker rooms, closed doors

*Running away

*Sudden and disproportionate interest in sex for their age

*Reluctance to talk

*Frequent vomiting

*Bruises, scratches, inflammation, lesions, bleeding, genital injuries, sexually transmitted disease, pregnancy

Have all of these schools lost sight of what interscholastic sports are all about? To complement the classroom experience of their students.

Copyright 2008 Times Publishing Company
All Rights Reserved
St. Petersburg Times (Florida)


June 13, 2008 Friday
4 State / Suncoast Edition


SECTION: SPORTS; Pg. 2C

HEADLINE: PAY THE FINE, DO THE TIME

BYLINE: IZZY GOULD, Times Staff Writer


Bradenton Prep was handed a whopping $38,000 fine this week, the largest ever dished out by the Florida High School Athletic Association. It's only the latest in a string of record fines handed out by the organization in recent years. The FHSAA's Web site shows 66 of 645 member schools are on restrictive probation and more than 90 schools are currently on some form of probation. Here are some of the more notable examples.

Record fines

Bradenton Prep

The $38,000 fine would have been stiffer if the school had not cut loose a pair of athletic directors and basketball coaches among other self-imposed sanctions. This one went all the way to the top with principal Susan Hedgecock providing housing for an athlete. Two more athletes lived with people tied to the school. The program was found to have recruited basketball players using "outside agents and college recruiters" specifically naming Virginia Commonwealth University assistant Tony Pujol in its findings. The school also falsified an FHSAA financial document and lied about the attendance of a preseason classic. In all, there were 19 violations in three sports. The school has vowed to appeal the ruling and has until June 24 to do so.

West Oaks Academy

In January, the Orlando school was handed a then-record fine of $26,550 after three individual cases involving the use of ineligible athletes, which prompted the FHSAA to say the school was "operating without administrative control." One athlete actually played in three football games using another kid's name and wearing another kid's number. The kicker - he wasn't even enrolled at the school and wouldn't have been eligible anyway because he already had burned his four years of eligibility. Another case involved an athlete who played in 19 games despite not having the minimum 2.0 GPA to be academically eligible. He also had enrolled at two other schools during the same school year before landing at West Oaks. The school lost its appeal and withdrew from the FHSAA in March without paying one cent. According to an Orlando Sentinel report, the school also encouraged other private schools to break away from the FHSAA to form an independent league.

Expelled

Jacksonville Potter's House Christian Academy became the second FHSAA member expelled since 1940 after committing three major rules violations within a year. The key violation occurred when five girls basketball players transferred to the school to follow their coach Tony Bannister from Shekinah Christian while the school was on probation. The school continues to participate as an "approved member" and the basketball team came within a win of playing for the NACA national championship. Scheduling has become a major problem with few local teams willing to take games and with no district schedule or the opportunity to play for a state title. The school can apply for reinstatement in 2010.

Homestead Berkshire School was handed what amounts to the death penalty after it was expelled in 2000 for five years after recruiting eight boys and four girls for its basketball teams laden with international players. The school had to forfeit all of its games and was fined $2,500. In addition, the school was required to reimburse the FHSAA for legal fees totaling $11,016.97. The school has since closed.

Other notable controversies

St. Petersburg Catholic was fined $13,000 in 2006 and the football team was banned from postseason competition through next season. The fine was one of the stiffest handed down at the time. The penalties were for three recruiting violations and holding offseason practices. SPC paid a fine and won an appeal Thursday to be fully reinstated.

Lakeland High became the center of controversy when star running back Chris Rainey almost had his eligibility pulled and threatened the Dreadnaughts' state title hopes after he bragged to the Miami Herald he received free clothes and money from people, which would have threatened his amateur status. Now at UF, Rainey later said he was joking and was cleared of any wrongdoing.

Nature Coast was fined $1,250 in 2006 and placed on three years probation after its coaches were found guilty of four recruiting violations. Hernando County athletic directors had threatened to withdraw from the county's athletic conference alleging Nature Coast had taken advantage of its status as a non-zoned school.

Orlando Christian Prep was fined $10,000 and banned from postseason play through 2010 for recruiting and housing two players, including former Gulf star Dominique English. In addition, the girls were declared ineligible for the remainder of their senior seasons. Coach William "Buck" Lanham was fired before the season. The fine was reduced to $5,000 in January 2007 on appeal.

Izzy Gould can be reached at [email protected] or (727) 580-5315.